Create an Empty Model by Omitting the Geometry of the Model

General

  • All geometry can be removed from the assembly model and information about the geometry can be left in the feature tree of the assembly.
  • In this case, the assembly itself is very light and the necessary parts or subassemblies can be restored as a normal model *1), in which case the geometry of the part or subassembly is loaded into the assembly.
  • The geometry of a part or subassembly can also be removed from the assembly using this method.

The function has been used
  • When several heavy point clouds have been loaded into the model, but you do not want to keep them all in the model taking up performance.
  • In large layout models, where the model has first been created as a so-called empty model and then only the content of the required bounded working area (cube) has been loaded.

Replacing technique
  • Requires that in addition to Vertex G4 or Vertex G4 Plant, the Vertex Flow product data management software is used.
  • In this case, the so-called reference model technique is used.

Create an empty model or clear subassembly geometry

  1. Open the assembly model that you want to create an empty model of, or whose part or subassembly geometry you want to clear from this assembly.
  2. Select the model to be cleared:
    • The main symbol of the assembly in the feature tree if you want to completely clear the model of geometry.
    • A part or subassembly if you want to clear its geometry from the model.
  3. Select the context-sensitive function Lighten > Empty model.
    • The geometry of the part is removed from the assembly model.
    • In the part's feature tree, the empty model appears on a gray background in square brackets.
    • The structure of the subassembly as an empty model is not shown in the feature tree of the main assembly.

Restore the normal model

You can reload the geometry of the empty model to the model:
  1. Click the empty model (gray model in square brackets) in the feature tree.
  2. Select the context-sensitive function Restore> Default Model.

Note: 1) Vertex assemblies
  • Vertex assembly files contain part geometry, unlike some other CAD programs, where the assembly only contains the file address of the parts and subassemblies, and where reading the assembly requires reading the part model files as well.
  • However, not all information from Vertex part models is read into the assembly model when the part is added to the assembly. Only the geometry of the active configuration is read into the assembly, and not, for example, the history steps of the part, and because of this, the file size of the assembly model always increases less than the file size of the part model to be added.